Grand deficit-cutting effort ends with whimper

[kpete]

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - The Republican and Democratic leaders of a 12-member congressional "super committee" are set to declare defeat in a joint statement to be released after three months of talks failed to bridge deep divides over taxes and spending.

After a year of bruising budget battles, it is another sign that lawmakers are too entrenched to compromise on the tax increases and benefit cuts that budget experts say are needed to set the country's finances on a stable path.

The panel's failure will cement notions of a dysfunctional Washington among voters and investors already disenchanted with the brinkmanship that brought the country to the edge of a first-ever debt default in August.

Lawmakers likely will not return to the problem until 2013 at the earliest as they shift their attention to the 2012 presidential and congressional elections.

Budget skirmishes will continue over the coming months.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/21/us-usa-debt-idUSTRE7AJ0KE20111121

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

1. Valid points in this article...

..."The panel's failure will cement notions of a dysfunctional Washington among voters and investors already disenchanted with the brinkmanship that brought the country to the edge of a first-ever debt default in August."

But I wonder how many had that gut feeling of heading down the road to dictatorship with a politiburo to reward long time cronies with an, "honored", appointment to a ruling council, ie...the old USSR after Stalin took control.

"Under Stalin however, this model was essentially reversed, in what was called democratic centralism, and it was the General Secretary who determined the composition of the Politburo and Central Committee." - <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politburo>

Yep, I had to look it up to make sure I had the progression towards totalitarianism correct in this instance where the leadership further pushes the proletariat out of power.

Whether such considerations were debated, even if only by the respective members in their own internal thoughts, I don't know. It is just nice to think that they did and this dangerous move towards centralized control appears headed to the history books.

[No Elephants]

4. Next up, either

the sequester will go into effect without the defense cuts, or increases to the defense budget will follow shortly, or both.

Good thing Panetta made that public statement about how the U.S. cannot survive cuts to the defense budget, eh?

[Hubert Flottz]

2. K&R

[sofa king]

3. Swishhhh!

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4970538&mesg_id=4971131

That committee is designed to fail. We've got their voodoo doll, and now all we have to do is poke them with tax hikes for the rich to get 'em to dance for us.

We'll dangle tax hikes along with a wide array of sensible and reasonable choices, which they will be forced to reject because their masters don't give a shit about sensible and reasonable things.

And when they do, the Department of Defense gets slashed by half a trillion dollars, in a general election season, without a single Democratic vote. Swish.

It turns out it's really easy to predict the behavior of conservative criminals. I called this one back in August.

[Bandit]

11. Do you really believe there will be ANY cuts to Defense let alone

cuts to the extreme called for when this Super Committee was formed?

[sofa king]

15. I believe someone will have to ask real effin' nice to get that changed.

[DCBob]

5. The President wins this battle.

Bottom line, the debt ceiling was raised and the cuts dont kick in until 2013 which by then congress might repeal them.

[unblock]

12. +1000. this is a clear win for obama and clear loss for drama-mongers everywhere

on the other hand, it largely just kicks the can down the road. which is the right thing to do in terms of deficit reduction (the time for that is not yet), but the political dynamics are likely to be no better a year from now when the automatic cuts are scheduled to kick in.

[on point]

6. Cut defense 400 billion / yr! That's 4 trillion over 10 EASY!!

[Javaman]

7. Knock me over with a feather.

did anyone actually believe that this moronic kabuki theater of the absurd was put together to actually do anything?

Please.

this was the worst kind of political theater. it had all the trappings of being a sham from the get go.


I wonder what will be marched out next? some sort of super duper super serious caucus, group or committee that will only do interviews with serious minded people on serious minded networks to talk about serious minded kabuki theater.

But wait, this next one will have even more dictatorial powers.

We are accelerating down the shitter as europe continues to fuck up left and right (Spain electing a neo-con that will institute further austerity measures). We can shovel shit against the tide all day long, but as soon as the euro takes the final swan dive, all bets are off. And by that point, no amount of money pumped back into the US economy won't do a bit of good.

Hope you like sawdust in your bread.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

9. No, the Department of Silly Walks will be the next new effort...

...at making Washington, DC look sensible.

Thanks to Monty Python for the idea, an Americanization of The Ministry of Silly Walks.

[Javaman]

10. I'll take that over what we have now, which is this...

[aquart]

8. Stupid idea fails? In this Congress?

Odd.

[Jim Lane]

13. Unlike some DUers, I *am* surprised by this outcome.

I didn't think the committee was designed to fail. I thought it more likely that at least one Dem (with Baucus as the most likely suspect) would end up supporting a regressive GOP plan, which would pass the committee by at least 7-5 and would then be enacted.

The actual outcome is of course much better than what I feared.

My apologies, Senator Baucus. I was too cynical about your role. Thank you for sticking with the other Democrats.

[disillusioned73]

14. Is anyone really surprised??

This was set in stone the day this shitty idea was concocted. And again the Dems fall right into the trap.. this was a win-win for Repubs and they played their hand just as many had predicted. There were only two scenarios that were going to come out of this so-called "super" committee.. the Dems would fold to the Repubs holding firm on NO revenue increases or a complete and utter failure and the Dems take as much or more of the blame in the public eye... win-win for a party that only wants to drag this economy even more into the ditch..

Welcome to modern day politics - the party in power really isn't the party in power (well, that only applies when Dems are in power)